Shopping can be hard especially when you are on a tight budget. In this video, Tasha gives you budget shopping tips will help you get the most out of your shopping trip. Want more budget tips? Check out this video:
Hi i’m tasha from one big happy life on behalf of the financial diet and this is the lifestyle fix brought to you by shopkick the lifestyle fix is all about helping you create the life that you want on any budget so today i’m gonna be sharing some tips on how you can win at shopping everyone should know these easy budget shopping rules number one never pay full
Price i know this one might seem super obvious because everyone knows that just about everything goes on sale eventually and while yes it’s always a good idea to wait for a sale sometimes that just isn’t practical but that doesn’t mean that you have to pay full price at least not without exploring all of your options even if the item you’re eyeing isn’t on sale at
The moment you can still get a discount by doing one simple thing asking for what by stopping and asking a store employee about current or upcoming discounts you can find out about deals that you might not have known about stores might offer incentives for being a new customer signing up for their rewards program or just walking into the store sometimes cashiers
Have extra coupons on hand that they’re able to give to the savvy customer who knows how to ask asking about discounts can also get you the inside scoop on upcoming promotions and can even get you early access to them and if they can’t give you early access then they might be able to hold the items for you for a few days until they go on sale you can also ask about
Price matching if you find the item being offered at a lower price elsewhere while you’re in the store even if the store doesn’t advertise its price matching policy it still might have one the store might also be able to honor expired coupons so ask them before throwing them away the bottom line here is don’t be afraid to ask for a discount on that full price item
You’re eyeing the worst they could say is no number two always shop with a list the quickest way to bust your budget is to not have one at all the second quickest way is to constantly make unplanned purchases going off your list or not even having one at all can quickly lead to overspending and buying things you don’t even actually like all that much or even need
A shopping list helps you stay focused on what you’re there for so you can resist the urge to impulse shop stores are purposefully designed to keep you wandering around in them in hopes that you’ll grab just a few extra things every single trip a list keeps you focused and moving from point to point without eyeing things you don’t need matter how enticing they look
If something does catch your eye then make a note of it on a list of things you want to buy in the future if you still care about it in a few weeks or a month then add it to your real shopping list having a wants list slows your purchases down and will have the added benefit of letting you save up for the item if it’s expensive and then you get the best deal i’m
Doing a no spend month in january so we can hit our goals of paying off $30,000 worth of debt and putting away twenty four thousand dollars for college for our daughter every time i’m tempted to buy something outside of our budget i’ve write it down on my list and promised to come back to it later it’s like a squirrel burying acorns it feels good just knowing it’s
There even if i never come back to it number three or rewards from things you’re doing anyway stretching your dollar a little farther it can be as simple as walking into a store that you were going to anyway shopkick is a free rewards app that lets you earn rewards called kicks that you can redeem towards gift cards there are eight different ways that you can earn
Kicks five of which don’t even require you to buy anything like walking into stores scanning the barcodes of certain products and visiting online stores of course you can also earn kicks when you buy things in store or online the app takes just a few minutes to install when you have enough kicks you can redeem them for instant gift cards that you can use at your
Favorite stores like amazon target and more check shopkick out by clicking the link down in the description box or downloading the shopkick app on your phone number four don’t break your budget a list alone can get you pretty far but it works even better in conjunction with your budget when you create your list make sure that it’s in line with a budget that you
Set for your shopping outing whether it’s for groceries or a new to toy for your dog one way to stay on budget if a price takes you by surprise is to have some go-to alternatives this can help you if the produce you intended to pick up is out of season and now double the normal price another option is to shop at wholesale stores like costco yes it’s possible that
You’ll pay more than sales prices but the consistent savings and reliable prices can save you time while also helping you stick to your budget and while we’re on the subject of not breaking your budget remember that a deal isn’t a deal if you end up paying double-digit credit card interest on the purchase for years covering your budget busting with growing credit
Card balance is still budget-busting so make your budget and stick to it and if you need help budgeting i’ll drop a link to my video about how to budget for a year at a time down in the description box below if something is more expensive than you planned then use that back-up plan you thought about an easy soup or pasta can fill you up without emptying your wallet
So consider one of those as a backup number five no your return policies before you buy sometimes the things that should go without saying are the things that need to be said the most never be afraid to return something it’s your money if you don’t like that they take it back it doesn’t matter how nice the salesperson was or that it was a gift return it despite
Your best efforts it’s likely that you will purchase an item and end up needing to return it especially if you order the item online and let’s be clear if an item isn’t serving you you need to return it so make sure that you know what the return policy is including any shipping costs or restocking fees before you decide to purchase the item also never be late to
Return something but if you are late don’t be afraid to ask if they’ll take it back anyway if you’re a regular customer the store is more likely to let a policy slide because they see your business as valuable keeping a good attitude also really helps we’ve all seen some meltdowns on youtube where people are not getting the service that they want in the store don’t
Be that person number 6 don’t just shop at one store it’s rare for a single store to have all of the best deals on everything all the time visiting a few stores and checking prices online too can help make sure that you are finding the best deal but also consider the value of your time is the extra 30 minutes spent going to another store worth saving 15 cents
On a can of tuna maybe not it probably isn’t worth the wear and tear on your car gas or the price of a subway or bus ride remember that many stores have price match guarantees and will honor another stores sales anyway so go ahead and have that friendly chat with the store manager or your cashier number 7 only buy things that you love don’t buy something that’s
Just ok because it’s on sale it’s better to spend a little bit more and purchase things that you truly love and will use over and over again remember a stores job is to present and sell you the products that you need and also that you want this means that displays and lighting are all designed to make you like the things that you see this can be especially true
For things that have high profit margins i mean who’s ever seen a dimly lit jewelry case this means that if you don’t love it in the store already then it’s not likely that it’s gonna wow you when you get home so just don’t buy it number eight sign up for coupons via email i know conventional wisdom says that you should unsubscribe from all those spammy emails
Because they just tempt you to shop unnecessarily but by doing that you’re missing out on all those sweet coupons that can save you money nowadays if you have gmail those emails go straight to your promotional tab anyway you don’t even have to look at them if you don’t want to just be sure to check your email when you’re getting ready to go shopping and see what
Deals or coupons your favorite shopping spots are offering that day if the temptation is really too much on a daily basis then unsubscribe from all of the emails in your main account and start a new email account that specifically for your shopping emails and coupons that way those emails stay out of sight until you need them number 9 lay your rewards to get the
Most savings do you know what’s better than getting a discount getting a discount some cashback and some hotel points too so be on the lookout for ways that you can get the absolute best deals on products and services by using multiple rewards programs at once credit card rewards loyalty programs rebate apps and apps like shopkick can all be used together to get
Cashback discounts and kicks for gift cards at the same time here’s what that could look like earn kicks from shop kit by visiting a store and checking out certain items then when you’re ready to checkout use any store loyalty cards or programs to get extra discounts or earn coupons for later then stack on a rebate app with promo codes then use some coupons that
You earned from a loyalty program clipped or received from the store the same day you shopped last pick a form of payment that gives you some perks any credit card worth having has some sort of cashback mileage or point program associated with it even some debit cards have perks for shopping at certain stores a credit card can offer one to five percent on the total
Purchase you make or an equivalent number of points or miles you’ll use that extra cash to bulk up that emergency fund obviously or for an extra night on the town either way you’ll be glad you got something back lastly you can then use shopkick on your final receipt to earn some last kicks a perfectly executed purchase like this could save you 20% on your total
Spend put these tips to good use on your next shopping trip and don’t forget to check out shopkick at the link in the description box thank you so much for watching and remember to tune in every friday for more episodes of the lifestyle fix see you next week
Transcribed from video
9 Budget Shopping Rules that Everyone Should Live By | The Lifestyle Fix By The Financial Diet
